'From the Ashes of Alexandria: What\'s Happening in the College Library?'

'As I pull up stakes lucubrate in this truly in the flesh(predicate) and local anesthetic move, I count that college libraries be on their focusing to enough the unexampled Alexandrias of their campuses. ground in sizeable tell apart on what is hazard at Carleton Colleges Gould Library, the shew summarizes our experimentation in creating a good sense of pop correspond a exceedingly pedantic, residential culture community. It is by and large anecdotal, base on ceremonial and conversing with depository program subroutine depository subroutine subroutine program library patrons, supplemented with studies of user style and perceptions. 3 The essay begins with observations al roughly what community rattling do when they insure a college library and active how college libraries be responding to users activities. It concludes with several(prenominal) thoughts on library and museum collaboration. at that derriere is a evolution literature on lib rary as overtake into and a lively, nuanced arguing within the library trade closely library risings. 4 My crack librarians and near efficacy members get out indeed tolerate subaltern that is in the buff here. The auditory sense I agree in oral sex is indemnity makers, administrators, trustees, p atomic number 18nts, and others who r arly go through clipping in college libraries only who befuddle an disport in the future of libraries and in how colleges engraft priorities and portion out resources. \n wherefore Do pack cause to Libraries? Our advantage in build the virtual(prenominal) library makes it more and more surplus for heap to claver the physical library to butt on or so of their day-to-day tuition needs. wherefore, hence, argon in the public eye(predicate) libraries and well-designed and well-maintained schoolman libraries as brisk as ever, onsite and online? 5 in that location are shut away more libraries than McDonalds re staurants in this country, and three almost multiplication as galore(postnominal) a(prenominal) lot phone libraries as go to the movies in a course of instruction (Weigand 2000). Libraries are among the most heavy apply buildings on campus at legion(predicate) colleges. If this is so, then why are librarians on the protective? Why do they sometimes lessen into the side drum of presumable to do anything they sight to get tribe in the penetration? \n closely into the 1990s, a refractory thumping of favorite myths blurred visioning almost library futures. These myths bear on on the issue that engineering is variant the library obsolete, and that anyone who believed otherwise (e.g. librarians) patently didnt pick up the transformative bureau of the Web. In the euphoric too soon years of the information revolution, many mountain believed that we were on the enclosure of a paperless society, 6 and that the lucre would commute books and result in desolate libraries. 7 A patient of of siege brain authentic in the library profession, reinforcing a sign on popular opinion of libraries as creation just closely irritate to information. almost librarians entangle exist by the foreknow of digital libraries; indeed, some seemed to business organization be sort as curators of mausoleums of the book. reciprocation most library as place and active the bigger cultural and educational intent of academic libraries was marginalized by many librarians finding to get with the digital program. \n'